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Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000010303206 | BP173.4 P36 2012 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
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Summary
Summary
Bahrain's tumultuous political landscape often overshadows the societal upheavals that this tiny country is facing. Sophia Pandya cuts through this to examine how international Islamic revivalism coupled with increased secular education has impacted Muslim women's religious practice and public position. She unsettles assumptions that education is a secularising force for Muslim women, showing that modern education among Bahraini women has in fact deepened both their engagement with Islam and their political participation. Uncovering what transpires when newly educated women have the opportunity to reinterpret religion and gain access to the work place and the political arena, Pandya sheds light on the complex intersections between women and public life, education and Islam. This book provides great insights into religious women's efforts towards self-determination within conservative Islamic movements as well as the impact of globalisation and wider economic and political developments in Bahrain.
Author Notes
Sophia Pandya has a PhD from the University of California at Santa Barbara and is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at California State University, Long Beach.
Reviews 1
Choice Review
In 2002, graduate student Pandya (religious studies, California State Univ., Long Beach) came to Bahrain to look into "the ways in which modernity, education and globalization have impacted women's religious practices." Although the threat of the US war on neighboring Iraq forced her to leave Bahrain seven months later, Pandya managed to obtain valuable information on the religious beliefs and practices of a varied group of women. Her book offers a sympathetic, nuanced presentation of the ways that Muslim women in Bahrain, Sunni and Shi'a, native and expatriate, negotiate their identities and expectations in the face of Islamic resurgence and regional political pressures. Combining personal observations and in-depth interviews, the author reveals the different understandings that these women have of themselves and of the fast-changing world in which they live. Rather than the silent, helpless, and oppressed women often portrayed by the Western media, this book shows the women as strongly opinionated and actively engaged in using "the very structures of religion, including institutions such as the Shi'a ma'tam and the Sunni madrasa, as venues of empowerment." Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. A. Rassam emerita, CUNY Queens College
Table of Contents
| Acknowledgments | p. ix |
| 1 Bahrain and Beyond Its Shores | p. 1 |
| 2 A Brief History of Bahrain since 1932 | p. 25 |
| 3 The Shi'i Ma'tam | p. 65 |
| 4 A Qur'anic School for Sunni Women | p. 99 |
| 5 Gulf Women's Stories about Life and Religion | p. 127 |
| 6 Expatriate Muslim Women's Stories about Life and Religion | p. 153 |
| 7 Thinking Big | p. 177 |
| Notes | p. 189 |
| Selected Bibliography | p. 215 |
| Index | p. 221 |
